United has been doing a spectacular job the past few months with opening new Polaris Lounges, which are their new international premium cabin lounges.
Continue reading: Review: United Polaris Lounge Houston Airport
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
There is a typo in the header to the crowding section. Says Newark but should say Houston.
Thank god someone else who Doesnt like when served soda water when asking for sparkling water. Quite a difference. Great review Ben!
Just wondering, besides the entrance sign were there any United logos in the lounge or was it just the polaris logo?
Like you want Perrier vs soda water from the soda gun/machine?
I prefer the later personally. I can't stand when you get a refill on the plane and you just know the can has been sitting open for the last couple hours and the water is practically flat.
Has anyone noticed that DL is behind the 8-ball when it comes to premium lounges? All they have are SkyClubs, which are definitely not in the same league as the Polaris and the AA Flagship lounges. It’s not like DL to be a follower in the US industry.
I wonder what the rate is for other carries to pay United per passenger admitted. Since it's not a *G club I assume it's higher.
Mike you definitely aren't the only one to notice. Skyclubs are pretty good for what they are, better than the Admirals Club, but nowhere near the quality of Flagship or Polaris and with so many Amex cardholders gaining access they are crowded too. It would be nice to see a "DeltaOne lounge".
Mike - while Delta leads in a lot of things, I wouldn’t say they have ever led when it comes to offering luxury perks. For example I don’t think they led in terms of offering premium transcons (I believe that was American). Delta was also one of the first to eliminate international “first class” entirely. Delta also has a ton of people who have access to its clubs via Amex Platinum, and I’m guessing they may want to avoid confusion about what clubs those members can access. Honestly I think you will see Delta expand or improve the clubs it knows have a lot of international business before creating a new class of clubs.
This is wonderful, they did a really neat job with this gorgeous lounge, hope I can visit soon.
IAH is one of my favorite airports in the world (an my favorite in the U.S.) so this is wonderful addition. Thanks for the detailed report and plenty of photos, it makes justice for this beauty of a lounge.
Also find the meal selection quite impressive.
Looking forward!.
So did the Polaris Lounge in IAH completely replace the United Club in Terminal E (which had escalator to 2nd floor and steps to 3rd floor?
@Anthony
Imo B6 is the premium transcon with their mint biz prodict and 34” pitch in economy.
AA never led the premium transcon market, especially with their “lobster”“rolls”.
Tbh, I would rather see DL expand their skyclubs food offerings (seating options/plug availability are great at the newer skyclubs imo, especially at SEA) to at least the Amex Centurion or AA flagship lounge level than starting a new lounge for a small percentage of travelers (int’l biz).
Soda machine can give you strep throat depending on if it is cleaned regularly. Some of the soda machines are germ factories.
Ben are you quite certain about the floor? I believe that the 2nd floor is a United Club and the third floor is the Polaris Lounge. I can imagine the elevator doesn't even go to the 2nd floor, so you perceive it to be the 2nd floor, but I think (haven't been there) that it's the third floor which is where they had showers before. Can you confirm?
@Mark, looks like there is still a United Club of sorts in Terminal E.
The original club had escalator's to the 2nd floor, then steps to the 3rd floor.
The bar was on the second floor, showers on the 3rd floor.
The Elevator originally went to both the second and third floors.
Possible they blocked the stop on the 2nd floor - or maybe they added a new elevator.
Based on the pictures - if they just took over the third floor, then I don't think the space would have been as big as soon. Maybe they got more space from the airport.
Lucky and everybody else's opinion is fine, but only one opinion about his lounge matters, Debit posting as Endre's...
Delta has probably recaptured bottom spot for a US airline, other than the ULCCs. Substandard lounges and ratty old planes. Plus their hubs are in cities most people do not want or need to go to.
I think AA Flagship lounges just pips United Polaris lounges, but both are competitive internationally, which of course they should be
@Randy, there is a "regular" United Club right next door to the Polaris Lounge in E.
NZ29 to Houston (the run that was going to return Continental to New Zealand before the merger) dep 22.15. Perfect for Air NZ’s Business Premier and qualifying Star Alliance pax. Another trip, via Houston’s BBQ joints with a local friend, to add to the bucket list.
Very comprehensive review and loads of good photos.
The late EVA flight allows some time to visit before close and I was actually directed to the lounge or I would've forgotten I had access.
I have the new United Explorer Mileage Plus CC. It comes with two passes to a Polaris Lounge. Can I use them for admission even if I am flying in economy?
@Paul B, those are passes for United Club that you get from United Explorer credit card. Not the same as Polaris Lounge (significantly less nice). Polaris can only be accessed by Business Class and three cabin First Class passengers of Star Alliance member airlines. Even Star Alliance Gold elite members do not have access.
Hi Lucky thanks for the review. I have used the Houston Polaris lounge when flying on United business class once and flying Turkish business class once. Both times it was later in the day and the evenings were quite crowded (but never loud like in Newark's Polaris lounge). You did have to wait for seated/full service dining however which took some of the shine off the excitement.
My favorite is still the Chicago lounge, it seems the perfect happy medium between the small Houston lounge and the large Newark one. And I especially love the cozy sort of wrap-around booth seats they have for the dining area in Chicago. I've yet to try breakfast and some of the options look amazing! So frustrating but I seem to mainly be transiting Houston at lunch time or later. Glad to hear you liked both lunch and breakfast offerings.
Now I will insert my usual lament that Delta and American both have great business class seats/layouts and United has great lounges but terrible business class seats (unless you fly one of their 15 or so planes that have actually been upgraded to Polaris).
I absolutely loved this lounge, and I didn't mind that it was smaller than the other Polaris lounges. I've only been in the Newark location. I was flying LH first class, which also allows you to be able to guest someone in who is flying Star Alliance, and their ticket doesn't have to be on a business international flight.
I have looked in lots of places and have yet to find an answer to this question: is there a time limit to my stay in the Polaris lounge? If I arrive at noon for my 6:40pm flight to Manchester, will the United employees be cool with that? Or will they tell me to come back at 3:40 (or some other time)?
@Tom,
I know this is almost a year after your post, but what are you smoking when it comes to DL hubs?
-Atlanta
-Boston
-Los Angeles
-New York
-Seattle/Tacoma
I don't think these really qualify as "cities most people do not want or need to go to."
“So as long as this remains somewhat of a secret, I can’t imagine crowding will be an issue.”
Thank you for keeping it that way and not writing about it on a blog read by millions of people.